Portable excavator



A. A. BRIGGS. PORTABLE EXCAVATOR.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 5. 1919.

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PORTABLE EXCAVATOR.

APPLICATION FILED IuLY5, I9I9.

Patented May 11, 1920.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2- INVENTOR ATTORNEY A. A. BRIGGS.

PORTABLE EXCAVATOR.

APPLICATION FILED JULY5, I919.

Patented May 11, 1920.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

INVENTOR M IIMI II I III ALFRED A. BRIGGS, or NEW YORK, N. Y.

PORTABLE EXCAVATOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mayll, 1920.

Application filed July 5, 1919. Serial No. 308,738.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALFRED A. BRIGGS, a citizen of the United States of America, and a resident of New York city, county of Bronx, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Portable Excavators, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part thereof. 1

My invention relates to new and useful improvements in excavators, and its object is to provide a simple and efficient ap aratus which is portable and adjustable. ore specifically, its object is to provide a catch basin excavator on a vehicle which facilitates its transportation from place to place, adjustably mounted so that it may be readily inserted in the basins. Other objects are to provide mechanisms for actuating the supports for the excavator for lowering the excavator, for driving conveyer buckets and for controlling these mechanisms.

These and other objects of the invention will appear in the following specification in which I will describe the invention and the novel features of which will be set forth in appended claims.

Referring to the drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of an apparatus which is made according to and embodies my invention together with a receiving or catch basin of standard construction shown in section.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same apparatus with its parts shown in different relative positions.

Fig. 3 is a plan view excavator.

Figs. 4 and 5 are sectional end elevations with the sections taken on the lines 4-4 and 55 in Fig. 3.

Fig. 6 is a transverse section on a larger scale of the conveyer.

Fig. 7 is a diagrammatic plan view of one of my excavators and a corner basin showing the way the apparatus may be adjusted to meet diflicult situations. 7

Fig. 8 is a diagrammatic elevation of the lower end of the discharge chute.

Like characters of reference designate corresponding parts in all of the drawings.

10 designates the frame of a wheeled vehicle, preferably amotor propelled vehicle upon which near the rear wheels thereof is a turntable 11, a part of the edge of which of my improved is provided with gear teeth 12 with which a worm 13 engages.

The shaft of the worm is extended to the side of the vehicle and its end is square for the reception of an actuating crank 14.

Tracks 1515 are provided on the turntable for rollers 16 on the under side of a slidable table 20 upon which the mechanism of the excavator is-mounted.

There are two sprocket wheels 21 and 22 mounted on the table connected by a chain 23 which is affixed to the stationary bracket 24 between the tracks. The sprocket 21 is affixed to the shaft 25 on which are two oppositely faced friction cones 2626, either one or the other of which may be moved into driven engagement with the friction wheel 27 by means of a lever engaging a collar 28 near the end of shaft 25.

30 is a main driving shaft which may be driven by any suitable mechanism, such for example as the propelling engine of the vehicle or by an independent engine such as is partly shown at 31 in Fig. 1 connected with shaft 30 by a belt 32. This main shaft 30 is connected with a shaft 32 on which the friction'wheel 27 is mounted by means of sprockets and a sprocket chain 33.

By moving the shaft 25 longitudinally in one direction or the other, the sprocket wheel 21 is rotated in one direction or the other and the result of this is that the table 20 is moved backwardly or forwardly on the tracks 15, as the chain 23 is connected with the tracks.

A clutch 34 actuated by a lever which engages a collar 35 connects the shaft 30 with an extension shaft 36 which is connected by bevel gears 37 with a transverse shaft 38.

The conveyer is slidably supported in a frame 40 which is rotatable about shaft 38. The lower end of the frame has rocker extensions 41 which rest upon the upper surface of the table 20. A worm gear 42 loosely mounted on shaft 38 is affixed to the side of frame 40. A worm 43 in mesh with it is on the shaft 44 on which are friction conepulleys 45, either of which may be moved into engagement with a friction drive disk 46 by a lever 66 engaging a-collar 46 Disk 46 is on a shaft on which is a worm gear 47 driven by a worm 48 on a shaft 49 connected by sprockets and a chain 50 with the main shaft 30. By moving shaft 44 longitudinally the frame 40 may be raised about the axis of shaft 38.

On the frame 40 are grooved guide blocks 51 in which the conveyer frame 52 slides. This sliding is accomplished by the mechanism which I will now proceed to describe. A sprocket wheel 53 on frame 40 is connected with a sprocket wheel 54 on a shaft 55 by a sprocket chain 56. The ends of this chain are fastened to a bracket 57 on the conveyer frame 52 so that when the chain is driven the conveyer as a whole is moved downwardly or upwardly in frame 40. On the shaft 55 is another sprocket wheel 58 connected by a chain 59 with a sprocket wheel 60 loosely mounted on the shaft 38. Sprocket wheel 60 may be driven in either direction by a worm gear 61 to which it is affixed. A worm 62 which meshes with gear 61 is on shaft 63 on which are friction cone pulleys 64, 64 either one of which may be moved into driven engagement with a friction disk 65 by a lever 66 which engages a collar 67 on shaft 63. A worm gear 68 on the shaft of disk 65 is driven by a worm 69 on a shaft 70 which is connected by a sprocket chain 71 with the main shaft 30.

The conveyer itself comprises buckets 72 on endless chains 73 which run over sprocket wheels 74, 75 near the ends of the casing or frame 52. These sprocket wheels 75 at the upper end are on a shaft which extends out through the casing or frame, and on it 'is another sprocket wheel 76; an endless chain 77 runs around this sprocket wheel 76 down to and around a sprocket wheel 78 on the side of the frame 52, up over a drive wheel 79 which is aflixed to the shaft 38 and back to the sprocket wheel 76. The sprocket wheel 79 is thus driven by the main shaft extension 36 through the beveled gears 37 and it may be seen that the chain 77 is always in engagement with the sprocket wheel 79 in any and all of the positions of the conveyer frame or casing 52.

80 is a chute affixed to the frame 40, parallel with and at one side of the conveyer. The side thereof opposite the conveyer is open as shown at 81 in Fig. 8 except near its lower end where it is closed by a wall 82. Spouts 83, 84 extend from either side of the chute to opposite sides of table 20. 85 is a pivoted blade for deflecting material into one or the other of these spouts.

When the apparatus is to be used it is moved from place to place with the parts thereof in the positions in which they are shown in Figs. 2 and 3. Upon arrival at the location of a catch basin, the vehicle is moved to a position near the manhole which is shown in Fig. 1 and designated by a reference numeral 86. Then the turntablell is rotateduntil the tracks 15-15 are equally spaced from the center of the manhole. next step is to slide the table 20 back on the tracks 15-15 to bring the shaft 38 over the center of the manhole. The frame 40 The is-then raised until the conveyer is moved downwardly through the manhole intov the catch basin. This results in bringing the parts in the positions in which they are shown in Fig. 1.

Now the conveyer is actuated by moving the buckets in the direction indicated by the arrow A in Fig. 1. This of course will raise the sediment from the catch basin upwardly and it will be discharged a't'the upper end of the conveyer into the chute 80 where the buckets turn over, regardless of the amount the conveyer has been lowered. A dump cart or other receptacle may be provided for receiving the excavated material as it is discharged from one or the other of the spouts 83 or 84. It may be seen that the conveyer may be raised or lowered while in operation. 7

After a catch basin is cleaned out, the parts of the apparatus may be returned to their original position by reversing the steps or the operations described and the apparatus moved to another catch basin.

The apparatus has been described herein as applied to a use for which it is particularly designed, but I do not intend to limit myself to any particular use. The invention upon which this application is based is broader than the specific embodiment thereof which has been shown and described for the purpose of illustrating the invention, and I intend no limitations other than those imposed by the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. A portable excavator comprising a frame, a casing slidably supported on the frame, a conveyer within the casing, having a driven shaft, a relatively 'fixed driving shaft, and an intermediate element connecting said shafts in all positions of the con-. veyer casing.

2. A portable excavator comprising a frame pivotally supported upon a substantially horizontal axis, a casing supported on the frame extending in opposite directions beyond said axis, a conveyer within said casing having a driven shaft, a driving shaft in alinement with said axis and an intermediate element connecting said shafts in all positions of the conveyer casing.

3. A portable excavator comprising a frame pivotally supported upon a substantially horizontal axis, a casing slidably supported on the frame extending in opposite directions beyond said axis, a conveyer within said casing having a driven shaft, a driving shaft in alinement with said axis and an intermediate element connecting said shafts in all positions of the conveyer casing. v

4. A' portable excavator comprising a slidable support, a frame pivotally mounted thereon, a casing slidably supported 011 the frame, and a conveyer within the casing.-

5. A portable excavator comprising a rotatable slidable support, a frame pivotally mounted thereon, a casing slidably supported on the frame, and a conveyer within the casing.

6. A portable excavator comprising a vehicle, a table slidably supported thereon, a frame pivotally mounted on the table, a casing slidably supported on the frame and a conveyer within the casing.

7 A portable excavator comprising a vehicle, a table rotatably and slidably supported thereon, a frame pivotally mounted on the table, a casing slidably supported on the frame and a conveyer within the casing.

8. A portable excavator comprising a vehicle, a table rotatably and slidably supported thereon, a frame pivotally mounted on the table, a casing slidably supported on the frame, a conveyer within the casing, and friction drive means for actuating the conyer.

9. A portable excavator comprising a vehicle, a turntable thereon, a, table slidably supported on the turntable, a frame pivotally mounted on the table, a casing slidably supported on the frame, a conveyer within the casing, said conveyer having a driven shaft, a driving shaft in alinement with the pivotal mounting of the frame, and an intermediate element connecting said shafts in all positions of the conveyer.

10. A portable excavator comprising a vehicle, a turntable thereon, a table slidably supported on the turntable, a frame pivotally mounted on the table, a casing slidably supported on the frame, casing, power means comprising connections for sliding the table, for tilting the frame and for sliding the conveyer casing, said conveyer having a driven shaft, a driving shaft in alinement with the pivotal mounting of the frame, and an intermediate element connecting said shafts in all positions of the conveyer.

11. A portable excavator comprising a vehicle, a turntable thereon, a table slidably supported on the turntable, a frame pivotally mounted on the table, a casing slidably supported on the frame, a conveyer within the casing, power means comprising slip gearing for sliding the table, for tilting the frame and for sliding the conveyer casing, said conveyer having a driven shaft, a driving shaft in alinement with the pivotal mounting of the frame, and an intermedia conveyer within the ate element connecting said shafts inall positions of the conveyer, means comprising slip gearing connections for rotating the driving shaft and manual means for controlling said connections.

12. A portable excavator comprising a frame, a horizontal pivotal support therefor, a casing slidably supported on the frame, an endless conveyer within the casing, said conveyer having a driven shaft near one of its ends, a wheel thereon, an idler wheel on the casing, a driving wheel iiralinement with the pivotalsupport of the frame and between said driven wheel and the idler wheel, and a flexible element connecting all of said wheels.

' 13. A portable excavator comprising a frame, a horizontal pivotal support therefor, a casing slidably supported on the frame, an endless conveyer within the easing, said conveyer having a driven shaft near one of its ends, a sprocket wheel thereon, an idler sprocket wheel on the casing, a driving sprocket wheel in alinement with the pivotal support of the frame and between said driven wheel and the idler wheel, and a chain connecting all of said wheels, a

7 source of power and a manually controlled friction clutch for connecting the source of power with the driving sprocket wheel.

14. A portable excavator comprising a frame, a casing slidably supported thereon, a conveyer in the casing, and relatively stationary means arranged to be unaffected by the sliding movement of the casing, for driving the conveyer.

15. A portable excavator comprising a frame, a casing slidably supported thereon, a conveyer in the casing, and a chute on the frame parallel with the conveyer and provided with an elongated opening on the side adjacent the conveyer through which the conveyer discharges into the chute.

16. A portable excavator comprising a frame, a casing slidably supported thereon, a conveyer in the casing, a chute on the frame parallel with the conveyer and pro vided with an elongated opening on the side adjacent the conveyer, discharge spouts projecting from opposite sides of the chute near the lower end thereof, and means for deflecting material passing through the chute into one or the other of said spouts.

In witness whereof, I hereunto set my hand this 30th day of June 1919.

ALFRED A. BRIGGS. 

